Every You, Every Me
by mR.peRSonALiTY
Summary: A continuation (more of a spin off really) of Holding on to the Rooftops...
1. Button Pushing

Summary: This is the sequel (well really it is more of a spin off) to "Holding on to the Rooftops." It is about a new girl named Angela, and a lot about Scott and Shelby because, well, I am an S/S shipper, so sure me. This story is actually kind of based off of the song "Every You, Every Me" by Placebo. Well actually, it isn't really, I just really like the song, so the song is somewhat incorporated in the story. So in any case, no you don't necessarily have to have read the above story, but people have told me they thought it was good…  
  
Disclaimer: I know this may come as an absolute shock, but I don't Higher Ground. Amazing, I know, I know. So, go ahead and TRY to sue me, but you'll never find me. Muahahahahahahahaha!  
  
Dedication: Anyone who reviewed on my last story, yes even French Fan. You all have forced me to finish something, and I know if all you lovely readers will review, you will force me to do the same thing. Oh, but don't worry this time, I have already written most of it, so you don't have to worry about long gaps. Yay!  
  
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Every You, Every Me- Button Pushing  
  
Angela looked up at the sky through her sunglasses, and then back to her father. "I cannot BELIEVE your doing this to me," she told him, her voice scratchy from all the yelling she had done the night before.  
  
"Angela," he father said in a nurturing tone. "I don't want to do this, don't you think I would rather keep you at home with Brit and I?"  
  
"That's what this is all about? Isn't it? Brit hates me so much she has to send me away. That's just a tad immature don't you think?" Angela asked her father in a scolding tone.  
  
"No, that is not it at all. Brit actually asked me to let you stay. She thinks we can work through your problems together, as a family. But I know that is not true. The only way I can help you is to get you away from whatever it is that is hurting you. Maybe these people here will know how to treat you, I don't."  
  
Angela glared at her father. "You think I'm going to end up like mom, don't you?"  
  
"I never said that Angela," he replied sighing. Then he looked over her shoulder, Angela turned around to see that he was looking at a tall thirty-something man. "That will be Mr. Scarbarow now."  
  
The man smiled at both of them, and extended his hand to her father. "Hello Mr. Wallace, I'm Peter Scarbarow." He looked over at Angela and extended his hand to her, which she took. "And you must be Angela."  
  
"Yes sir, I am," she said smiling at him.  
  
"Mr. Scarbarow," her father began.  
  
"Peter, please."  
  
"Peter, this is my daughter Angela as you know. I am very grateful that you will be allowing her to finish out her high school career here, and I would love to stay and talk to you, but I am afraid I must be leaving. I have an important business meeting in New York in five hours, so I have to hop on a plane right away."  
  
"That's no problem. We will get Angela situated right away," he said, and then shifted his gaze to Angela. "Angela, do you have anything you would like to say to your father before he leaves."  
  
Angela looked up at her dad with his open arms. She wanted to walk away without saying good-bye, she wanted to scream at him, tell him how much she hated him… but she couldn't. She couldn't bear to see him looking sad; he had been through too much already. Slowly she wrapped her arms around her father. "I love you Daddy," she whispered into his ear.  
  
Her father pulled back to look at her, and smiled. "I love you too Angela. You are a good kid, and I can't wait until I get to see you again." He gave her a peck on the cheek, and she returned the gesture. "Don't forget to write," he told her as he climbed in to the car.   
  
"I won't," Angela replied, and waved at the car until she could no longer she it. She turned around to see the Peter character staring at her as if in awe. "What?"  
  
"Nothing. It's just that… well most kids whose parents send them here don't normally respond so well to them."  
  
"Well, I'm not most kids," she bit back.  
  
"I can see that," he said. "Well, before we can get you fully admitted, you are going to have to go through a few little things. They are going to have your bags checked, as well as your body, and Sophie is going to ask you a few questions and explain the rules. Does that sound good to you?"  
  
"Oh yes, because having people invade my privacy and touch me with their cold hands is such a joy to me. I don't think there is anything in the world I enjoy more," Angela said smiling at him sarcastically.  
  
"Well I am glad to see we have someone so adamant about getting help," he replied, choosing to ignore her sarcasm, and he started walking with her in tow. All Angela could do was roll her eyes, and hope she didn't get stuck with some complete losers.   
  
"Guys, look over there," Juliette said nodding to two figures walking about thirty yards away from the Cliffhangers. "Is that the new girl?"  
  
"Well lets think about it for a minute Queenie, no one has ever seen her before, and she is walking towards the office with Peter, bags in tow," Shelby scoffed.  
  
Juliette rolled her eyes, and Daisy hid a smile. "Well I don't know about the rest of you, but I think she's hot," David whooped. "Dang."  
  
"Yeah, it must suck to know you have no chance with her David," Daisy said smirking at him.  
  
"Your just mad 'cause you know there's no chance for you and Ezra to get together, and you lost your chance to have me."  
  
"Please guys, why can't we all just get along?" Aubrey asked.  
  
"He's right you know," Shelby told Daisy. "We all need to ban together in case the new girl gets put in our group."  
  
"And why would we need to ban together?" Scott asked Shelby, smiling at her brightly.  
  
"To make sure she doesn't try to take any of our men, especially not you," Shelby replied, moving in for a kiss.  
  
"Stop right there," Peter said as he began walking towards the group, newbie-less. "I let a lot of stuff slide because of what happened to Scott, but I don't want to see anymore PDA. Is that understood?"  
  
"Come one Peter," Scott grinned. "All you have to do is turn your head, and you don't have to see any."  
  
"Ah ha ha. I think you and Shelby should keep in mind that week of shuns I have hanging over Shelby's head."  
  
"We'll stop," Scott said smiling at him. "Promise, Scout's Honor."  
  
"Uh huh, that's what I thought. In any case, the reason I came here is to make you all aware that we will soon be welcoming a new Cliffhanger to our group. Her name is Angela Wallace, and I expect you all to be nice." This comment was rewarded with groans and eyes rolling. "And Shelby, since you seem to have so much love, I was thinking you could be her buddy."  
  
"You see, I would love that, it's just that I think I'm busy this week," Shelby started, but then remembered what Peter had said before. Being a first week buddy was better than a week on shuns any day. "You know, I think you're right. Just tell me when you need me."  
  
"That's what I like to hear. You can come with me, and we will wait and see if she is done getting admitted yet or not. As for the rest of you, get to lunch. Group will be in thirty minutes."  
  
Angela just stared at the wall as the woman whom they called Sophie began explaining the rules to her. "No inappropriate touching, no sex," she went on, the last one earned a smirk from Angela. "Is there something funny about our no sex rule?" Sophie asked her.  
  
"No," Angela responded. "Well, actually. I just mean, honestly, who here would be worth screwing?"  
  
"Well that's a great attitude towards things."  
  
"Oh whatever. You know that if you were someone normal you would never give the kids here the time of day."  
  
"If I were someone normal?"  
  
"Whatever," Angela responded flicking imaginary lint off her shirt. "Forget I said anything."  
  
"Fine," Sophie replied. "Maybe we should start the questionnaire part of admittance. Do you know why you're here?"  
  
"Well you see that is quite a simple question. My dad is simply afraid I will turn in to my mother, and thinks that you guys could stop this threat."  
  
"Your father said he was afraid for you. He said he was afraid that you were slipping deep into depression, and that he wanted to get you away from that. Is that true?"  
  
Angela was starting to get upset, how dare this woman try to psychoanalyze her, and tell her what her own problems were. That's it, Angela thought to herself, time to push some buttons. "How should I know?" she asked, slumping into her chair. "I'm the messed up one. Remember?"  
  
"Well, I can see we're not going to get much out of you," she replied standing up. Angela could tell she was pushing her buttons, but she knew it wasn't enough. She would have to go deeper if she wanted to keep Sophie away from trying to figure out the truth.  
  
"Yeah, and you aren't going to get any of that "pansy-ass love yourself" shit into me either," she said smiling.   
  
"There is also no foul language here."  
  
"And no drugs right. Oh and no sex, but I am going to go out on a limb here and say that you yourself have avoided THAT rule." Angela only said that because she was trying to see if that Peter character was a soft spot, and if it was Angela was going to use it against her.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Only that I'm not blind. I saw the way you were looking at Peter. Please. You have that gross 'oh-I-love-you' look written all over you. And you know? That's great. I mean, I'm sure Peter really, really, likes you a lot."  
  
"Listen here Angela. Horizon is a school to keep you safe from negative things. And if all you are going to be is negative, then I'm not so sure…" Sophie said, Angela could see her temper flaring. Bingo.  
  
"You're what? I'm sorry what was that?"  
  
Sophie just shook her head. "Nothing, it was nothing. Look, your first week buddy is going to be here in a minute, and she'll explain more about how things work around here. So stay put, I have more important things to attend to." And with that, she walked out the door. When she left Angela sunk lower into her chair. She didn't want to hurt Sophie, she seemed like a genuinely nice person… but she was trying to get to know Angela, and that was something that just couldn't happen. No one knew the true Angela, and that was the way she liked it. If anyone starting getting to close, she would just shove them away. She had already learned her lesson from the last person she let in, she wouldn't allow herself to be hurt like that again so she would push everyone away. That was what she had done with Sophie, and that was what she would do to anyone here who tried to get to know her.  
  
Author's Note: Okay, I know you probably all like, hate Angela right now, but don't. You have to understand her character a little but better to know why she was being all bitchy to Sophie. Please Review! It would like make me that happiest. Thanks for thinking about it, even if it was just for a second. Oh, it could take me a little while to build this story up. 


	2. Seemingly Perfect

Every You, Every Me- Seemingly Perfect  
  
Shelby walked into Peter's office and saw a girl with chestnut hair, fair skin, and blue eyes there. Shelby could tell from far away that this girl would get along with Juliette; she was a total prep.   
  
Shelby knocked on the door to get the girl's attention. It worked, and she looked up. "Oh, hey," the girl said simply. She stood up, and bent down to grab all her bags, and looked at Shelby expectantly.  
  
"Oh, well… I'm supposed to tell you I am your first week buddy, which just means I'm supposed to like shadow you for your first week so you can kind of get the routine down."  
  
"Yeah… So do I refer to you as my first week buddy, or do you have a name?"  
  
Shelby cocked her head and smiled; maybe this girl wasn't who Shelby thought she was. "Well, personally I prefer the almighty, but I suppose Shelby would do."  
  
The girl nodded her head. "Shelby," she repeated. "I'm Angela, but most people call me Angie, or Ang, or you know stuff like that. I don't really care, it's just a name you know."  
  
Shelby smiled, thinking about the play based off of Romeo and Juliet she had done with Scott last year. "Yeah… just a name. Well, I guess we should go hit the dorms first."  
  
"Sounds good to me?" Angie asked, and simply followed Shelby when she started walking.   
  
This girl isn't so bad, Shelby thought, maybe I'll even end up liking her.   
  
Angela smiled as Shelby introduced her to everyone. "And this, this is David. I suggest you stay away from him, he is more than a little creepy," Shelby told her laughing.  
  
David rolled his eyes and took Angela's hand, and then kissed it. "Shelby's just mad because I told her she didn't have a snowflakes chance in hell with me."  
  
Angela laughed. "Hi, I'm Angela."  
  
"Is that what they're calling angels now?" David asked her, trying to be Mr. Suave.  
  
Angela just smiled and then went to sit down next to Shelby on the couch. Though Angela looked like she was only half way listening, she was playing very close attention to everyone. She noticed them when they thought no one was watching; she watched their eyes when they spoke. It was what she always did. She would watch a person before she became their friend. She would watch them and then figure out what kind of person they responded well to, and she would be that person. It was how she did things; she became the person they wanted her to be. But if they ever tried to get to know the real her, she would push them away, because she knew what would tick them off more than anything. She had spent too many years of her life eluding people of the real her to slip up and let them find out the truth about her now. But why didn't Angela want anyone to get to know her? Because if they new the real her, if they knew what hid behind the angelic face they had come to know and trust, Angela was positive they would hate her.  
  
"Hello Cliffhangers," Peter said as he walked in to the room. Angela wondered if Sophie had told him about their confrontation. "Am I correct in assuming that you have all been introduced to our newest member?"  
  
"Yes Peter," Shelby answered. "I'm not completely hopeless you know."  
  
"I would never say that you were, but I would say that you and Scott were getting a little too close for my comfort." Angela looked over at Aubrey and could see that he himself would say the same thing. Shelby scooted closer to Angela while rolling her eyes. "In any case, today for group we are going to be doing a trust exercise. Just so I don't hear any complaints I will make it boy-girl. So Scott and Shelby, you'll be a group, uh how about we make Angela and Aubrey a group, then Juliette and Auggie, and of course Daisy and David."  
  
Everyone moved to form their group, the only two people that opposed were Daisy and David. Angela smiled at Aubrey. He was definitely good looking, and he seemed nice enough and unassuming. Who knew? Maybe they could even end up as a couple. "Well hello again darlin'," Aubrey said in his smooth southern accent.   
  
Angela laughed. "Hey," she replied sweetly.   
  
"What we are going to be doing is the girls will be falling in the guys arms, and the guys will be lead blindfolded by the girls across my own personal obstacle course. This exercise is all about trust. Trust and honesty are the two most important things that there are in life, you can't have one without the other." Angela smiled to herself, that is what you think. Angela knew perfectly well that the two weren't coexistent. People trusted her, and she had spent five years of her life being nothing but dishonest. They went about their exercise: Aubrey caught her, she led Aubrey through the obstacle course of chairs and couches with out a hitch. Pretty soon Angela had Aubrey in the palm of her hand, and that was just where she wanted him, that is where she wanted everyone.  
  
Daisy glared at Little Miss Perfect from across the table at lunch. Angela had just gotten here, and already Daisy didn't trust her. "So, Angela why are you here?" Daisy asked, and everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Angela.   
  
"Well, I was hungry, but after seeing this food I think I've lost my appetite," Angela responded, her response being rewarded with laughter, but Daisy wasn't buying.  
  
"Ah ha ha. No, I mean why are you here at Horizon with all of us?"  
  
"What's that supposed to me?"  
  
"Well, you just don't seem like a screw up. As a matter of fact you seem like someone who would be voted as Most Friendly in the yearbook or something. I mean honestly, even Shelby likes you."  
  
Angela's face fell a little. "Well, I guess not everything is as it seems."  
  
"Well, I would have to agree with you. I mean, on the surface you appear to be someone who is fun, and cares about everyone. As a matter of fact, everyone seems to respond well to you. But I suppose that is just coincidence."  
  
"Must be," Angela replied leveling her with a glare. "You know, it's funny. When I first saw you, you appeared to be someone who didn't car about anyone's past, just as long as they were honest, and not judgmental, but I guess I was wrong."  
  
"No, you're right, I am that kind of person. But like you said, I don't care as long as someone's HONEST."  
  
"Are you implying that I am a liar? My name is Angela, I have the birth certificate to prove it." Everyone cracked a smile, but Daisy knew she was just trying to get everyone to forget about the real subject at hand.  
  
"I'm not saying you're a liar, I'm saying your being dishonest, you're keeping the true you from us. Hiding behind a mask…"  
  
"Daisy," Shelby put her arm on Daisy. "Why don't you just leave her alone? She didn't do anything to you."  
  
Daisy just looked at Shelby. "However, you were right about losing your appetite. All this dishonesty is making me sick. I'll be in the dorm if Peter asks," Daisy said getting up from her chair. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, but she didn't care. This girl was trying to hide behind a mask. Pretending to be what everyone wanted her to be, and that was one thing that Daisy didn't much care for.  
  
Shelby watched as Daisy walked out of the door. What was her problem? "I'm sorry to about that Angie."  
  
"Oh, it's no problem. Don't worry about it." Angela replied smiling.  
  
"She's probably just PMS-ing," David said laughing at his own joke.   
  
"No really, it's okay, don't worry about it." Angela said. Shelby had to admit she was impressed. This girl could handle Juliette, and yet was way cool, and she didn't take this opportunity to say mean things about Daisy. "So, is the food this bad all the time?"  
  
"It's not that bad," Scott said with a mouthful of mashed potatoes. Both Angela and Shelby laughed.  
  
"I guess it will just have to take some getting used to," Angela said smiling.   
  
"Yeah, with a little salt nothing is ever that bad," Aubrey said in his smooth southern drawl. Shelby hadn't heard him talk this much with everyone around.  
  
"How long have all of you been here?" Angela asked looking around at all the faces.  
  
"About eight months I would say," Shelby answered trying to tabulate.  
  
"Well, about five months all around, I missed one of them," Scott said and then looked back down at his mashed potatoes. Shelby put her hand on his knee and smiled at him warmly.  
  
"Well, I would have to say it's been a little under a year for me. I have been here a while," Juliette said counting on her fingers.  
  
"Some of us need more time than others," David said laughing at Juliette. "While I have collectively been here only two months."  
  
"I got here about a week before Shelby," Auggie said. "So eight months too I guess…"  
  
Angela looked at Aubrey, and he cracked a smile. "And you?"  
  
"Well, I would say it has been about a month now. So you took my official title as Newbie away from me," he said straight faced  
  
"I'm so sorry," Angela mocked, and then her and Aubrey began a conversation about who knows what. Shelby didn't much care, she was too busy paying attention to her own man.   
  
"Umm, well are you okay here Angela?" Shelby asked.  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"Well, Scott and I are going to go out to the docks to… talk."  
  
"We are?" Scott asked through a mouthful of green beans.  
  
"Sure you are. Well, have fun TALKING," Angela said with a laugh.  
  
Shelby smiled at her. "We will." She really liked this girl and, she had no clue what Daisy's problem could be.   
  
"Shelby why couldn't we have talked inside? I'm still hungry," Scott complained as Shelby pulled him towards the docks.  
  
"Because we're not going to talk," Shelby said in a frustrated tone.  
  
"Oh," Scott understood now. "Well, I guess that is better than food."  
  
"You guess?" Shelby asked swiveling around to look at him.  
  
"No, no, it is much better than food," Scott said smiling at her. She turned around and softly laughed. Scott loved when she laughed, but he barely ever got to hear it. "So what do you think of the new girl?"  
  
"She seems pretty cool, I mean it takes a really amazing person to be able to be friends with Queenie AND me."  
  
"I'm on friendly terms with Jules and you," Scott complained, he wanted to get credit for his achievements.   
  
"And you're an amazing person," Shelby said looking up at him as she sat down, a smile on her face.  
  
" I know. So then what's Daisy problem with her?"  
  
"I don't know," Shelby answered looking down at her feet that were dangling over the edge. " I mean, Angie never did anything to her, and I know if Daisy wasn't being all weird she would really like her. I don't know, sometimes Daisy can be way weird."  
  
"Yeah," Scott said. But he also knew that most of the time she was always right. He may not always like her, or what she said, but he knew that it came from some form of the truth. " But I mean, Daisy IS normally right about these things."  
  
"Not always, I mean she said that I shouldn't be with you, didn't she?"  
  
"Yeah, but I…"  
  
Shelby cut him off. "So, it doesn't matter what was going on at the time, we belong together, and I should be with you."  
  
"Daisy thinks that now."  
  
"Yeah, now that she has come around and actually gotten to know you. And I'm sure that will be the case once she gets to know Angie too."  
  
Scott smiled; Shelby was so cute when she was getting flustered. "Yeah, but who cares? I'm here with you, and I don't want to talk about things that aren't," he said leaning in for a kiss. But Shelby didn't lean in; she just started laughing. "What? What did I miss?"  
  
"That was only the cheesiest line anyone has ever given me, and it didn't even make sense."  
  
"Oh. So… we need to hurry up before Peter comes and finds us."  
  
Shelby finally leaned in. "Aren't you the romantic one."  
  
Author's Note: I thought it was about time I finally brought in some Scott and Shelby action, but in any case. I hope you guys liked it. Remember these first few chapters will be a set up for the whole story, so yeah. Also, a little more about what happened with Ezra leaving and stuff will be explained more in this "sequel."   
  
Until We Meet Again,  
  
Misi 


	3. Time Will Tell

Every You, Every Me- Time Will Tell  
  
Angela smiled at David's lame joke, trying to concentrate. She couldn't believe Daisy had gotten under her skin like that. The only thing Angela knew to do was to push Daisy away. That was the only to keep herself from being exposed. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by the impatient prodding of someone's finger. She looked over and saw Aubrey smiling at her. She smiled back and motioned towards the door with her head. He nodded in agreement and together they got up from the table.   
  
"So…" Angela started.  
  
"So," Aubrey echoed, and then smiled. "What do you think of Horizon so far?"  
  
"Honestly?" She asked him and he nodded. "I don't know what to think of it." Angela said looking down at her shoes and smiling; that was truth.  
  
"Yeah, when I first came here the rest of the group was going out on some sort of a trip, so I was here all alone."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, it was interesting. But, you know, they came back, and there are some times when I wish they wouldn't have," he finished, looking down in silent contemplation.   
  
"You wish THEY wouldn't have, or do you wish that a certain someone wouldn't have?"  
  
"I wish they wouldn't have," he said firmly. "They just constantly bicker an fight. It gets annoying after a while. I mean, they are too busy paying attention to their own inner pain, they can't see the person around them is hurting. Like for instance, Daisy's in a lot of pain over what happened with this one guy, I mean, I don't know all the details, but any idiot can see she's in pain. But no, the rest of them don't care because they are too wrapped up in their own petty problems."  
  
Angela didn't know what to think of this. She was surprised that Aubrey actually took the time to watch people and learn about them without any hidden reasons. He was so open and honest, and so caring. So caring in fact that it bothered Angela a bit. If she didn't work fast Aubrey would be yet another person she would be forced to push away. "You know Aubrey, you are a complicated man," she said smiling at him.  
  
"Well, Angela, I firmly believe that if women are going to be mysterious, I might as well be complicated," he said, his accent becoming thicker.  
  
Angela simply smiled at him, then got up and left. "How's that for mysterious," she whispered under her breath.   
  
Shelby smiled as Scott reached out for her hand with his. Everything seemed to be perfect as far as Shelby was concerned. Everything was out in the open; Scott knew everything about Shelby and Shelby knew everything about Scott. It was an honest relationship, and that was the only kind to have.  
  
"Shelby?" Scott's voice cut through he thoughts.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if I had gone to live with my dad?"  
  
Shelby stopped walking and turned to look at Scott who was looking up at the sky. "Why?"  
  
"I mean, do you ever wonder how different things would be, if you made one little decision different. Maybe it's even just a different street you decide to take. If you had taken the other street you'd be dead now, but your not, because you chose the other road."  
  
"What," Shelby asked confused. "What brought on Mr. Philosophical?"  
  
"I just, sometimes I wonder about things…" Scott trailed off and looked back up at the sky which was slowly loosing it's light, as clouds began to cover the light. "You know what, forget it. I'm just tired, and when I'm tired I act stupid."  
  
Shelby looked down at her feet, not knowing what to say. "No, you're not being stupid. I wonder sometimes too. Sometimes I even wonder what our lives would be like now if I had decided to run away with you. Who we'd be, would we still be together. Sometimes, before I make a decision, I think about it, and I wonder what the two different worlds are like, even after I make the decision."  
  
"You know what?" Scott asked, smiling. "I think maybe Peter has been showing Sliding Doors one too many times."  
  
Shelby glared at him, but before she could get in a good swat, he ran off. Shelby laughed and started to chase after him. She was just about to reach him when, SMACK, she ran into a solid mass that was in the form of a human. She looked up and once her dizziness had subsided she saw Aubrey looking back down at her, and instead of his normally friendly smile was a blank face and eyes that reflected the storminess of the sky. "I'm so sorry," Shelby said, and looked at Scott who was slowly making his way over to her. "I um, I didn't mean to. Scott and I were…"  
  
Scott finally reached the two of them and helped lift Shelby off the ground. "Sorry man, Shelby and I were just messing around, it was a accident."  
  
Aubrey turned too look at Scott with contempt. "Yeah well, Shelby tends to ACCIDENTALLY bump in to me often."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Scott asked looking at Shelby. Shelby just shrugged her shoulders; she had no clue.  
  
"Oh nothing. It's just that, don't you ever wonder how Shelby kept herself warm while you were gone? Don't you ever wonder if she needed someone while you weren't here? I don't know… It's a little strange how you can come back and the two of you can pretend like that month never even happened."  
  
"Are you okay Aubrey," Shelby asked. She was thoroughly confused now, she had never seen this side of Aubrey, and she wished it would go away.  
  
"Yeah, I'm just dandy. But I'm not too sure about you," he said simply, and just walked off. Shelby just stood there, biting her lower lip. She wondered what was going on in Aubrey's mind. This whole scene would have made more sense if he had been malicious, or bitter, but the only thing that was different about him was his eyes. His once bright eyes had been devoid of any light, and that scared Shelby.  
  
"Shelby?" Scott asked, once again interrupting her thoughts. "What was that all about?"  
  
"I don't know," Shelby answered honestly. "But I'm a little worried about him, he's acting strange."  
  
"Maybe you shouldn't be so clumsy," Scott said trying to lighten the mood. It worked and Shelby jumped on top of Scott, sending the both of them to the ground.   
  
"Maybe you shouldn't be so easy to catch," she suggested raising her eyebrows, and then leaned in for a kiss.  
  
Aubrey frowned as he looked up at the cloudy sky; normally he loved the rain, but he wasn't in the mood for it today. He just couldn't figure Shelby or Angela out. He figured maybe he could get over Shelby with Angela, but Angela was being so dodgy. And Shelby… Aubrey couldn't figure out how she could just pretend that nothing happened. He hadn't meant to be so harsh, but a month's worth of tension had built up beyond the breaking point. Couldn't anyone see that he was in pain too? Didn't anyone care that there are other people in pain beside themselves? Aubrey shook his head knowing the answer: no. He knew perfectly well how easily people could just ignore everyone else because they were too wrapped up in themselves. After all, he wouldn't be here if people weren't like that. He would be back at home, back with his sister.   
  
Aubrey wiped away at a lonely tear that had made a trail down his face. "Ashlynn," he whispered and looked up at the sky. "Ashlynn, why did you have to leave me?"  
  
He didn't bother to wait for any response from the sky or other objects, he just walked briskly towards the dorm. He couldn't deal with any of this right now. He just needed some time alone, some time to think and reflect on his own. It was much easier to be alone than to be surrounded by people and be lonely.   
  
Angela signed her name, folded up the paper, and sealed it with a lipstick kiss. "Mmm," she sighed loudly so that no one could ignore her.  
  
"You're in a good mood," Juliette stated.  
  
"Yeah," Angela said without looking at Juliette, and instead pretending to be staring off at nothing. This always gave one the desired affect when one was pretending to be extremely gleeful about something. That was exactly what Angela planned, and it was working.  
  
Juliette bounded across the room and hopped on to Angela's bed. "So who's the guy?"  
  
"What?" Angela asked pretending to be shocked. "Why does it have to be a guy for me to be happy?"  
  
"I know that look all too well," Juliette stated matter-of-factly. "And I know that that look means you are happy about a guy. So, who is it?"  
  
Angela smiled; Juliette's voice had caught the attention of Shelby and Daisy, and both were turning to look at her. "Honestly? It's Aubrey. He's just so… amazing you know. I mean, we talked for a little while in the woods… and he's just so… deep," she said the last word very airily. And her smile faltered only for a second when she saw the look on Shelby's face.  
  
"So if you two talked maybe you could explain why he was acting all weird," Shelby said, as she placed her hands on her hips.   
  
Angela simply looked down, as if she had a secret she wished she could tell. She had had many years of practice where this kind of unexpected question happened. "Well, we were talking about why he ended up here, he's still a little emotional about it." Angela looked back up again and smiled. She was getting extremely good at recovering.  
  
Shelby looked down, "oh. So, why did he get sent here?"  
  
Angela semi-smiled at her, "I would tell you, but I promised I wouldn't. I'm really sorry Shelby, I would tell you if I could, but a promise is a promise."  
  
Daisy 'tut-ed' and everyone tuned to look at her. She just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and a lie is a lie."  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Angela asked defensively.  
  
"Only that you don't know jack about Aubrey besides his first name. You're so pathetic, the way you make such a big deal about every little thing, just because you want people to like you. People would like you a lot better if you were yourself."  
  
"Like they like you?" Angela asked, her lips pursed, and her eyebrows raised.  
  
Daisy just stared at her, shook her head and laughed- something that Angela had not expected. "I would rather people like me for me, than some false persona I've made for myself. And in any case, if you are so honest, and so real then why don't you tell us why you're here?"  
  
"Daisy," Shelby warned. "Don't push her. This is her first day."  
  
"Yeah, and she's already got all of you fooled. I would have thought you of all people could see past her disguise Shel. I mean, she's exactly what you used to be. Except instead of pushing everyone away, she waits until they get too close to her for her own comfort."  
  
Shelby looked over at Angela, and Angela's heart raced. If Shelby believed what Daisy was saying then so would everyone else, and then she would be screwed. Then for once Angela Jolene Wallace would be forced to be herself, and that was the one person Angela did NOT want to be. "Look Daisy, can't you just give it a rest. Wait until she's comfortable around us. Most people, unlike yourself, can't just come out and be themselves the moment they meet someone. For most of us it takes time. She'll come around when she's ready," Shelby finished, her voice making it very clear the subject was closed for discussion. Daisy just simply shook her head and sat back down on her bed. Shelby turned away from Daisy and smiled at Angela. "Aubrey's really cute."  
  
"Yeah I know," Angela said her smile returning.   
  
"Don't hurt him," Shelby said and then crawled into her bed, and slipped off to sleep.   
  
"I can't promise anything," Angela said under her breath. And as long as Aubrey didn't try to delve any deeper into the real Angela, she wouldn't. 


	4. The Face You See

Every You, Every Me- The Face You See  
  
Scott wiped the foggy mirror but instantly regretted it as he caught his reflection. He wasn't avoiding his reflection because he looked back, or had a big zit or anything. He couldn't look at his reflection because every time he did all he saw was his parents. He had his mom's eyes, and hair, and even though he had never really thought they looked alike like, he saw his dad's face instead of his own. Scott glared at his reflection for a minute and then finally tore his eyes away and began to get dressed. Scott had kept trying to push his feelings back, to avoid them, but in the middle of the night, they always came to haunt him. He fumbled with his zipper as he had begun to replay last night's dream. Instead of Elaine haunting his dreams he now had his parents, and if he could choose, he knew he would much rather have Elaine. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy seeing his parents, it was that every time he saw them, or thought of them, he felt a pang of guilt. Despite what anyone might say, Scott knew it was his fault they were dead. They had gotten on that plane to come and see him. If he hadn't been selfish, if he hadn't just let them stay where they were instead of begging them to come visit, they would still be alive. They would still be alive, and Scott never would have been forced to go and live with Elaine… and Landon. But at the back of Scott's mind he secretly thought he had deserved what he got. He deserved to be put through hell for killing his own parents. A knock on the door yanked Scott away from his thoughts. He looked at his reflection one last time and saw a tear had slipped down his face. He wiped it away quickly, yanked the door open and barreled over a shocked David. Scott didn't worry about it, and instead hurried as quickly as he could to breakfast.   
  
Shelby rubbed her eyes as she and Angela made their way down to breakfast. It had been another sleepless night with Walt haunting her dreams. She was already a little on edge and wasn't sure if she could take anymore of Angela. It wasn't that Angela was a bad person, Shelby liked her, but she was just so perfect. There was not one hair out of place, her face was flawless, and didn't need any make-up, and her bright blue eyes brightened up her face, and every other aspect of her was perfect. Shelby was watching her out of the corner of her eye when she heard someone calling her name behind her.  
  
"Shelby," a very masculine voice called out. "Shelby, wait please."  
  
Shelby's spirits soared at the thought of seeing Scott, but the more she thought about she realized that wasn't Scott, the voice was all wrong, and Scott would already be at breakfast, eating. She turned around and came face to face with Aubrey. He looked over at Angela and smiled a greeting, and then turned back to Shelby. "I really need to talk to you."  
  
Shelby turned to look at Angela. "Go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute."  
  
Aubrey smiled again at Angela who was now turning to walk off. "Look Shelby, I just wanted you to know I am really sorry about the way I acted yesterday. I was way out of line and…"  
  
But Shelby cut him off. "You don't need to apologize Aubrey, I understand. Everyone has their bad days, and yesterday was just yours. It's okay, really," she emphasized, trying to reassure him.   
  
Aubrey shook his head. "Yeah, it definitely wasn't the best day of my life."  
  
"Most days here usually aren't," Shelby confided in him, and the decided to change the subject; talking about her feelings wasn't exactly Shelby's favorite thing. "So what's up with you and Angie?"  
  
Aubrey's eyes widened and he looked at his spotless shoes. "Why? Did she say something?"  
  
Shelby laughed inwardly. "Well, only that you're oh so dreamy," she said batting her eyelashes in mock infatuation. She thought this whole thing was stupid, but it was a nice distraction from her own conflicting thoughts. "And that she thinks you're 'really cool'."  
  
Aubrey looked back up at Shelby, smiling. "She said that?"  
  
"And a lot more mushy stuff that made me want to barf. So, come on. I've given you some info, give me some."  
  
"Well, I mean… She's really pretty."  
  
"Yeah, to the point I want to barf, but thanks for bringing that up," Shelby joked.  
  
"Yeah," Aubrey said, and his eyes sort of misted over. "And she listens you know, I mean really listens. And, she doesn't judge you or anything. And she cares, I mean you can just tell that she cares about what you have to say, you know."  
  
Shelby was taken aback by Aubrey. "Yeah… So, do you think anything is going to happen?"  
  
"I don't know," Aubrey said, and started walking, Shelby right by his side. "Well, it's not in my nature to be too aggressive about these things. I mean, I like to take my courting slow."  
  
Shelby laughed out loud and Aubrey just stared at her bewildered. "I'm sorry," Shelby said still laughing. "It's just that, you said courting. I mean, you don't normally hear that these days."  
  
Aubrey looked at her and shook his head. "Well, most would argue that I'm not exactly your normal average Joe," he said looking down, frowning.  
  
"No, I didn't mean it as a bad thing. I meant…" Shelby tried to search for the word. "I meant that it was really sweet you know. Endearing, if you will."  
  
Aubrey looked back up at her, the smile had returned. "Well, you know, I always that I was a little endearing myself," he said in mock cockiness.  
  
Shelby laughed again, she liked how easily her words came out when she was around him, maybe being with Scott was helping her to open up more.   
  
Scott was watching Angela very closely. It had started out subconsciously, but he had eventually realized it, and still could not seem to tear his eyes away. It wasn't because she was beautiful that he was staring, although she was incredibly good looking. No, it was because of how calculated everything she did seemed to be, and how much he was dying for a distraction. After Daisy's outbreak he had began to wonder more about Angela. She did indeed seem to make sure everything she was doing was seamlessly perfect. For instance, right now she was smiling politely at David and his jokes, but whenever he would turn away her face would fall. It seemed to Scott that Daisy probably was right, that Angela was probably just being phony. If there was one thing Scott despised, it was fake people. They never turned out to be any good; Landon was a perfect example of that.   
  
"Scott?" A female voice asked from behind him. The voice startled him so much that he finally managed to turn away from Angela, and his eyes instead fixed themselves on the more pleasant sight of Shelby.  
  
"Shelby," he said smiling brightly at her. "I didn't even see you come in."  
  
"Uh huh," Shelby said, looking at him expectantly.  
  
"What?" Scott asked befuddled.  
  
"Umm, do you want me to sit next to you, or am I supposed to be another table in solitude?"  
  
"Oh, right," Scott said surveying the table arrangements. He was on the very end of the table, and he was, so to speak, completely surrounded. There was only one available seat, and that was at the end of the table. No, wait, Aubrey had just taken that seat. "How about we go get our own table?" Scott coaxed and sat down at a table secluded by a large potted plant.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" Shelby asked Scott.  
  
"Nothing," Scott replied quickly. Now that there was no Angela to distract him, his thoughts had drifted back to his parents.   
  
"Scott," Shelby said staring at him from over her orange juice. "I'm not an idiot, I see you when you think no one is looking, and I know something is wrong."  
  
"Well you don't know much then," Scott said bitterly; she of all people should understand his need to avoid what was wrong.  
  
"Scott, it's me, Shelby. I'm not Peter or Sophie, I'm not forcing you to talk about your feelings… All I'm saying is that I'm here, if you want to talk about it, I'm here, and I always will be. And, I know that you don't want to talk about it right now, but you know as well as I do that it will eventually all come out."  
  
"Oh, this coming from Miss Let's-Pretend-I'm-Something-I'm-Not," Scott bit back.  
  
Shelby looked down at her bacon. "You're right," she said finally, looking back up at him. "I just, I don't want to see you in pain, that's all."  
  
Shelby's words hit Scott like a ton of bricks; he shouldn't have been so mean to her. "Shelby, it's not you… It's just that I miss them, but I'm not ready to talk about it… I need to sort out my feelings first. Okay?"  
  
"Of course," Shelby said. She scooted her chair closer to Scott, and then put her arms around him. "But when you do want to talk about it, I'll always be here."  
  
"I know you will Shel, and I'll always be here for you too," he said, and then he looked into Shelby's clear blue eyes. Those comforting eyes had got him through many hard times. Shelby smiled at him, and wrapped her arms around him, and Scott felt a weight lifted off his shoulders; here, in Shelby's arms he was protected, from everything.  
  
"I'll always be here," she whispered in his ear.   
  
Spend all your time waiting for that second chance,   
  
For a break that would make it okay.   
  
There's always some reason to feel not good enough,   
  
And it's hard at the end of the day.  
  
I need some distraction oh beautiful release.  
  
Author's Note: Hey guys, thanks for all the awesome and helpful reviews. Oh, yeah, and I do not own that song, and it is by Sarah McLachlan, you may recognize it from the episode, Babe in Arms, but I thought it fit well here. Anyway, just as a note, I posted chapter three before I read all the reviews, because I wanted to post it you know, since it has been a while. Anyway, so yes, I agree that I made Shelby too friendly with Angela in the beginning, I am going to try to go through and fix that a little in the following chapters (you see, I already had the first six chapters before I posted the very first one, so…. Yeah). I think the reason I had her becoming close to her quickly is because Shelby sees something in her, subconsciously if you will, that is quite familiar to Shelby because she used to be the same way. In chapter five you will see what I mean as her and Angela have a little confrontation. And also, the reason I had her telling Daisy to back off was because Daisy pushed her somewhat in the beginning to be herself, and Shelby knows how much that sucks… so yeah. That's why I wrote it that way, but I am glad you pointed it out to me so I can try and mend it a little. I'm really sorry, and if I mess up on Shelby again just tell me, because she is a really hard character for me to write… so yeah. Once again thanks for all your great and really helpful reviews. I appreciate them more than you know. 


	5. Off Guard

Every You, Every Me- Off Guard  
  
Angela smiled at everyone over her glass of orange juice, but she wasn't really paying attention to anything. She was way too distracted to consider taking mental notes. Last night's dream had been the same nightmare that constantly invaded Angela's dreams. It was always the same; she was always sitting there, in an all white room, on a white couch. She was always in the form of nine-year-old Angela Wallace, and she was always looking down at her once favorite, beat up, blue tennis shoes.   
  
"Mom," she would say, her voice, and eyes reflecting the innocence of her nine-year-old self. Her mother, however, would just stare blankly past her, at a spot right above her left shoulder. All awareness would be devoid of her mom's eye, as she sat there in her faded, cotton, floral sleeping gown.   
  
A silent tear would fall down her face that had evolved to her present day self. All innocence lost from her eyes, and her voice. "Mom," she pleaded with the woman who seemed to be decaying where she sat. The woman Angela had once trusted above anyone simply stared at that same spot in the air, but never Angela. "I'm sorry." Her voice was hushed and silent, barely audible above the shouting that was now overtaking the silence. Suddenly the scene changed and Angela was no longer in that all white room, but instead in her own violently pink one.   
  
"I hate you," she heard herself scream at her dad. "I hate you more than I have ever hated anyone," she yelled again vindictively. Then she charged at him, her whole 5' 8", 97-pound body crashing in to him.  
  
"I don't care if you think I am the devil's advocate, you're going to eat," her Dad shouted back, his voice cold and rigid.  
  
"You know what? I wish mom were here, she would accept me for who I am!"  
  
"You're mother is crazy, and wouldn't know the difference between you and a bean tree. And you ARE not anorexic, that is a disease you HAVE… but not for long," her father snarled.  
  
"You just want me to be miserable. You want everyone to point and laugh at me, and call me fat. You want me to be ugly so it will be easier for you to keep a leash on me. I would have no where to go if I were fat and ugly, because no one would want to hang out with me."  
  
"No, I don't want you to be fat, I want you to be alive. And if living makes you miserable, then so be it. I will do whatever I have to, to make sure you make it out of your teen years alive and healthy, whatever it takes. Now you're going to eat, and then I am going to take you to a doctor for counseling."  
  
"Counseling," Angela echoed, befuddled.   
  
"Yes, counseling."  
  
"I AM NOTHING LIKE MOTHER!" Angela shouted with such force she became slightly dizzy.  
  
Her dad sighed deeply. "I never said you were."  
  
"Then why… why are you sending me to counseling?"  
  
"Because sweetie," he said in a nurturing voice as he wrapped his arm around her. "Anorexia is not something you can get over on your own. Everyone needs help every now and then, and this is just one of those times. Do you understand what I'm saying?"  
  
Angela took a deep breath in, thinking about what he had just said, but before she could answer him the earth moved under her feet and she was back in that same white room, back with that same woman whom she had grown to despise.  
  
"You did this to me," Angela said to her. "I would be normal if I didn't have you for a mother."  
  
Angela expected her to just stare off into space like she always did. "I didn't do this to you," her mother said, he voice distant and scary. "You did this to yourself," she said and then looked straight in to Angela's eyes. Angela jumped back from the shock and then ran from the room. She could hear her mother cackling all the way down the hall.  
  
"Angela?" Angela shook her head to clear the dream from her mind, and then she looked up and saw the comforting dark eyes that belonged to Aubrey staring back at her. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Umm yeah," Angela answered as she stood up, gathering her tray. "I'm just a little tired. I didn't sleep well last night. You know, new bed and all."  
  
"Yeah," Aubrey said smiling at her, and standing up as well.  
  
"Well, I need to go to the bathroom," Angela said quickly, she needed some time to herself, and if she didn't get it soon she might crack and then everyone would see her for the fraud she was. She threw her tray in its spot and ran to the rest room, not bothering to wonder what people might think of her now.  
  
"Peter?" Sophie said as she knocked on the open door of his office. She pushed the door a little and slipped through.  
  
"Sophie," Peter said, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"  
  
"I just thought maybe we should talk about the new girl," Sophie said looking at him hopefully.  
  
"Well, I was just reading her case file, so ask away."  
  
"Okay then, why is she here?" Sophie asked blatantly.  
  
"Ah, well, according the my trusty folder she was once anorexic, but that is just the beginning of it. Her father sent her to counseling for her anorexia, and the counselor found that she was more than a case of some eating disorder. She found that she was also manic-depressive, and borderline schizophrenic. "  
  
Sophie looked at him, taken back. "But Peter, we've never had anyone schizophrenic here before."  
  
"She's being treated for the schizophrenia, that's why we had to have all those extra medical forms filled out, so we could give her the medication. But as for the manic depression, she was sent to a top of the line therapist three times a week who prescribed her medication, but felt that it was getting worse instead of better. The therapist felt that it was Angela's environment that was making it worse, and that she should be taken out of it. She refused to move, something about her dad would be abandoning her mom, so her dad sent her here as a last resort. She came quietly, which is one reason I was excited to have her. I mean, I think she really wants our help, I think she is really ready to get better. Isn't it fantastic?"  
  
Sophie just looked at Peter and nodded her head while smiling. "Yeah, it's fantastic all right," Sophie said thinking of the conversation she had had with Angela the previous day. "But what was it you were saying about her abandoning her mom."  
  
"Ah, and the plot thickens. As it turns out, her mother is in a mental institution. I suppose she's worried she'll turn out like her mother. That's probably why she's working so hard to get help. All I have to say is that, either way, this should be fun."  
  
As she walked out of Peter's office she muttered under her breath, "oh yeah, lots of fun."  
  
Angela stared at herself in the mirror. She looked the same as always, but she didn't feel the same. Shaking her head, she sank down on the floor thinking of her dream. She hated her mom; she hated the way she felt around her, hated how she had been the one who had her keeping who she was from everyone. She had been embarrassed that her mom was a loon, and now she had to be embarrassed that she was one too. Angela felt a lurch in her stomach and crawled to the toilet; this morning's breakfast wasn't working so well with her. She clenched the sides of the toilet as her stomach purged itself.   
  
"Angela," a concerned voice called out from behind her. "Angela are you okay?"  
  
Angela turned around and saw a concerned Shelby looking down at her. Angela wiped her mouth off, and stood up. "Yeah, I'll be okay I think. I just, I don't know…"   
  
"Oh great, another Juliette," Shelby muttered under her breath, rolled her eyes and then began to look Angela over, just as if she was judging her. "You're not, I mean, you didn't…" Shelby trailed off.  
  
"No," Angela responded, knowing what Shelby was talking about. "I'm not bulimic, the food just didn't settle too well. It's probably because I'm a little nervous and all."  
  
"Oh," Shelby said, relief washing over her features. "Well, I think we should go back to the dorm so you can brush your teeth, okay?"  
  
"Yeah," Angela said, glad that Shelby was there.  
  
Shelby watched Angela as she brushed her teeth thoroughly. "I feel really stupid," she said to Shelby as she spit out a wad of toothpaste.   
  
"Why?" Shelby asked, fiddling with Angela's charm bracelet that she had taken off to brush her teeth. She only asked the question to be polite; right now her mind was on other things.  
  
Angela continued brushing her teeth, and spit out some more tooth paste. "Because I mean, all my nerves got to me, you know? Like, I cracked under pressure or something."  
  
"The pressure of what?" Shelby asked confused. She didn't think this was really that big of a deal- everyone gets nervous.   
  
Angela stopped assaulting her teeth with her brush and looked up at Shelby carefully, almost cautiously. "Well, to be perfect," she said quietly, and ten went back to brushing her teeth.   
  
Shelby stopped fiddling with the bracelet and looked up at Angela. She was surprised so much by that moment of honesty. So she was trying to be perfect, maybe she was more like Juliette than Shelby had thought. Shelby bit back her urge to block herself off, and decided that she should reward Angela's honesty with her own. "You know," Shelby proceeded cautiously, still contemplating whether or not she wanted to do this. "I know what it's like… to not want to let people in, to keep the real you from everyone. Believe me, I spent a large part of my life hiding behind a mask."  
  
"And?" Angela asked her after she had rinsed her mouth out with water. "Any words of wisdom? Are you going to inform me how I shouldn't hide myself from the world?"  
  
Shelby jumped back, not just at her sardonic tone, but also at how much she sounded like Shelby used to. "No," Shelby responded honestly. "It sucks being you, being out there, being vulnerable. But it's just something you have to do. And you don't need to do it for anyone else besides yourself, because despite what I believed, if you are never who you really are, then you can never really enjoy life the way it's supposed to be," Shelby finished surprised at herself. It was like she had been waiting to say that for months, and she finally had a reason to say it. But Shelby's bravado wavered, and she looked down at her shoes in embarrassment.   
  
Angela closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I know you're probably right… but I'm not ready to be me."  
  
Shelby couldn't say anything; she was afraid something else she didn't want to come out just might.   
  
"Okay," Angela said, resolve in her voice, and then looked up at Shelby as if she were scared. "Just, please don't tell anyone. I know Daisy's already got me all figured out… but still."  
  
Shelby laughed. "I won't I promise. You know, Daisy has everyone figured out, and she's actually a really cool person."  
  
David watched Daisy carefully out of the corner of his eye. He didn't know how much longer he could take not talking to her. He wanted to talk to her about Ezra, about what had happened, but he was scared too because he was scared to admit her had been wrong. "Oh well," he muttered to himself and was just about to turn away when Daisy looked up.  
  
"David?"   
  
"Umm," David racked his rain for an excuse to be staring at her and came up empty. "Daisy," he said lamely.  
  
"Do you want something?" She asked staring intently at him. Her eyes fixed on his.  
  
"No," David said a little to quickly. Trying to recover he stuck his hands in his pockets and stood up, as if he had some where he needed to go. Finally, his brain came up with something somewhat resembling intelligence. "I was just wondering if you would be up to, you know, reading my fortune. I hear you're pretty good at what you do."  
  
"Correction," Daisy said, still staring at him determinedly. "What I did. I don't read fortunes anymore. I don't think we should know the future, it makes us prepared, and being prepared isn't always a good thing."  
  
David just stared at her confused. "What are you rambling on about?"  
  
Daisy sighed in exasperation, as if it should be obvious what she was talking about. "Take this conversation for example. It's easy to see you weren't prepared for it, which means I have caught you off guard, and you're more likely to be open about things." David continued to stare at her, confused. "So, tell me you're true feelings about Ezra's leaving."  
  
"He left," David said. She was right, he was definitely taken off guard, with no lame excuses to get him out of telling the truth at his fingertips.  
  
"Yes, and whose fault is it?"  
  
"His," David said, surprising both himself and Daisy. "I mean…" he trailed off, it was no use trying to cover, the truth had already come out and he couldn't take it back no matter how hard he tried.  
  
"You're right," Daisy said recovering from her own shock. "Ezra left because he wanted to, because he was weak."  
  
"Yeah, but why didn't Peter try to stop him?" David asked, now willing to talk about it.  
  
"Because he couldn't, not legally. Ezra turned eighteen and he didn't have his parents to keep him here. Since he wasn't sent here by a court order, he could choose to leave once he came of legal age. So can I, so can Shelby, and Scott, and Juliette. Maybe not you so much since you beat the crap out of that one kid. And definitely not Auggie, he was sent here by a court order my friend."  
  
David stared at her for a moment. Everything was making sense now. "You know something Daisy, you're not too bad a person to have around."  
  
Daisy smiled at him sardonically. "Oh, of course I'm not, but you are a completely different story," she said, and then walked away from him.  
  
"Women," David muttered underneath his breath and walked off.   
  
Author's Note: Well, what do you guys think? I know Shelby opened up to Angela, but she was caught off guard… you know like the title of the chapter, so anyway. Anymore helpful comments? I really appreciate them. Oh, and to KK, whatever questions you have about Holding on to the Rooftops, ask me, and I will try to address them in the following chapters. I understand it was probably confusing; I was just pushing myself to finish. You're right, I have pretty much ignored what happened in that story, but don't worry, and there will be more stuff happening from it, legal stuff and such. In any case, once again thanks everyone who reviewed, I appreciate every single one of them, and I wouldn't be writing this story if it wasn't for you guys. 


	6. Used Shoes

Every You, Every Me- Used Shoes  
  
Aubrey twiddled his thumbs as he sat patiently, waiting for Angela to come out of the girl's dorm. He hoped she was okay. She had been acting like she didn't feel good, or maybe she was just trying to avoid him. 'No,' he told himself. Shelby had said she liked him too. She was probably just a bundle of nerves because of all that was going on. She probably just needed a few minutes to sort her feelings out. Aubrey's thoughts were interrupted as a door opened and hit him smack in the middle of his head.  
  
"Oh, my God," he heard a female voice say. "I am so, so sorry."  
  
"Are you okay?" another female voice asked him.  
  
"Aubrey," the first voice said. "I'm really sorry. Are you okay? Do we need to take you to the nurse's office or something? I mean, do you need Peter or…"  
  
Aubrey's mind was starting to clear, and his vision was becoming focused again. He looked up and saw Shelby and Angela staring down at him, both with concerned looks on their faces. "I'm okay," he said, trying to stand up. His legs wobbled and he sat back down again.  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Angela told him as she sat down and put her arm around him. "I didn't mean to hit you with the door."  
  
"I guess that's what I get for not paying attention where I sit," he said trying to make a joke to smooth the situation over. He chuckled to himself, but stopped immediately because the action gave him a sever headache.   
  
"I think maybe we should take you to the nurse," Shelby said still standing.   
  
"No, I'm okay, I promise," Aubrey said trying to reassure both her and himself.   
  
"Yeah right, you couldn't stand up," Shelby said, with her eyebrow cocked and her lips pursed. "Look, she'll decide if you're okay, and you might even get some ibuprofen out of the deal… though I doubt."  
  
"Yeah Aubrey," Angela said looking at him intently. "You really need to make sure you're okay. I don't want anything really bad to happen to you."   
  
Aubrey sighed, knowing that he was being overruled and it was pointless to try and argue. "Fine," Aubrey replied, standing up cautiously. He made sure his feet were firmly on the ground before taking another step forward. He really was okay now; he had just needed a moment.   
  
"So," Angela said as they began making their way to the nurse's office. "Why were you sitting by our door?"  
  
"I was waiting for someone," Aubrey said while attempting to blink his headache away.  
  
"Really?" Angela said with mock curiosity. "Who?"  
  
"Captain Planet," he replied sarcastically as he tried to clear his mind again, his vision was becoming foggy. "You. Who else? I needed to ask you something."  
  
"Do you no longer need to ask me something?"  
  
"Well, I was going to ask you if you would consider being my girlfriend, but I'm not so sure now."  
  
Angela stopped walking and turned to look at Aubrey. "Why not?"  
  
"Well, I don't normally go for girls who are trying to kill me," he said, returning to his blinking method.   
  
Angela laughed and started walking again. "Why, I suppose not."  
  
"So," Aubrey said.  
  
"So what?"  
  
"So, would you consider being my girlfriend? I mean I know I am moving a little fast, but I did have this whole speech. You seem to have knocked it out of me."  
  
Angela laughed. "Why yes Aubrey, I would, but only if you'll forgive me."  
  
"I suppose I could, but…"  
  
"Hey, you two love birds," Shelby said, cutting him off. "Where are you going? The nurse's office is over here."  
  
"Right," Aubrey said as he grabbed Angela's hand and steered her to the nurse's office. In spite of himself he began smiling; Angela had just said she would be his girlfriend, and he hadn't even had to beg.  
  
Angela watched as the nurse examined Aubrey, smiling at him the whole time. Maybe she shouldn't be doing this. She wondered if this was the right thing. Sure, she liked Aubrey plenty, but he would just try to get close, and then she would have to push him away. She had been doing a lot of thinking about what Shelby had said, and she realized there was just no way she could ever be herself. She knew that, despite what anyone said, no one would accept her if she was herself. Why else would she have been hiding her true face for all these years?  
  
"You'll be okay," the nurse told Aubrey, interrupting Angela's thoughts. "I just think you need to lay down for a little while and you'll be okay."  
  
"Thank you very much," Aubrey said, his true gentleman's nature shining through.  
  
"Oh, it was no problem, but I have some work to do so I will come back to check on you in half an hour. You should try to get some rest during that time," she said and then walked out of the room.  
  
"Hey," Aubrey said from his bed.   
  
"Hey," Angela replied. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm good, you know… if good means having a splitting headache, and knowing that you'll be feeling this in the morning."  
  
Angela laughed. "Yeah, well, I just wanted you to know that I really am sorry."  
  
"Forget about it," Aubrey said smiling. "I prefer to think of it as a bonding experience. Anyway, you shouldn't waste your time around here."  
  
"No, I want to stay and make sure you're okay."  
  
"Well, I can guarantee you that I will be fine, just as long as I am left to recuperate on my own. If you stay here I might be distracted and then I'll never be the same again," Aubrey said dramatically clutching his shirt.  
  
Angela laughed. "Okay, I'll leave, but I think you should be aware that when you're in a semi-concussion state, you're accent comes through much clearer."  
  
"Why thank you miss. I don't know what I would have done without that vital bit of information," Aubrey said in mock seriousness.   
  
Angela rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. Then again, maybe Aubrey wouldn't try to delve too far into who Angela really was.   
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sucker love is heaven sent,  
  
You pucker up my, my passion's spent.  
  
My heart's a tart, you're body's rent.  
  
My body's broken, yours is spent.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Shelby looked back at the nurse's office one last time. She would have stayed there, but she had more important things to deal with… like Scott. She knew he hadn't had time to deal with his parent's deaths, but she also knew there was nothing she could do about it. Scott would have to deal with this on his own, and no matter how hard she tried, Shelby wouldn't be able to help make things better. Her thoughts were getting to confusing; they blurred and became all muddled in her mind. She needed to sort them out, needed to understand what she really felt, and she knew the one person who could help her was temporarily upset with her. "It's worth a try anyway," Shelby mumbled to herself as she climbed up the stairs to the girl's dorm.  
  
"Daisy," she called out as she opened the door. Shelby walked cautiously; she couldn't afford to offend Daisy. When the whole room came into view Shelby saw Daisy sitting on her bed staring off in to space. "Daisy?" Shelby said, all the whole wondering if it was wise to bother Daisy right now. Lately, with Ezra leaving and everything, she had been a ticking time bomb.  
  
Daisy looked up suddenly, and her eyes narrowed when she saw Shelby. "Where's your new bestest friend?"  
  
"She's in the hospital," Shelby said, sitting down on her own bed.  
  
"I knew you'd get sick of her act eventually, but really Shelby," Daisy said. Shelby could tell she was making an effort to keep the conversation light.  
  
"Yeah well, what can I say?"  
  
"You could start with why you're here?" Daisy said, her voice completely devoid of malice. Shelby looked up in to Daisy's face and could see warmth and openness there.  
  
"Umm," Shelby said looking down and cleared her throat. "I need your help."  
  
"Most people do," Daisy said simply, but Shelby knew she was listening.  
  
"I, uh… It's about Scott…" Shelby trailed off, not certain how to go on.  
  
"Most things around here are," Daisy said, offering no help as to how she could get this out.  
  
"Yeah well… Look Daisy, I don't know how to say this with tact. Scott's all mopey because his parents died…"  
  
"Wouldn't you be Shelby?" Daisy asked interrupting her.  
  
"Yes, of course I would be. That's not what I'm saying…" Shelby started but Daisy held up her hand to stop her.  
  
"What are you saying Shelby?"  
  
"What?" Shelby asked confused by the question.  
  
"What exactly ARE you trying to say Shelby?"  
  
"I don't know," Shelby replied throwing her hands up. Shelby shouldn't have even bothered; this was a complete lost cause.  
  
"Well I do," Daisy said smiling at her, Shelby however just stared at her. "You're trying to say that you think he needs to deal with it, but you don't want to push him. However, even though you don't want to push him, you know he needs help, and you know he wants it from you, but you don't know how to give it to him."  
  
Shelby thought about Daisy's words for a moment and realized she was right. "Yeah," Shelby said, her voice barely audible. "What do I do?"  
  
"This isn't something you can help him with Shelby. You may have been able to help him get past his problems with Elaine, but that was because you understood, you had been there. None of your parents have died."  
  
"So you're saying that I can't help him because it never happen to me?" Shelby asked spitting the words out.  
  
"No," Daisy said quickly.  
  
"Then what exactly are you saying Dais? I mean, Scott got my whole turning tricks thing, and he hadn't gone through it."  
  
"I know," Daisy said consoling her. "Just let me explain something. Scott understood what you were going through because you told him, because he put himself in your shoes. What you have to do is put yourself in his. Imagine that you love your parents more than anything in the world, that you couldn't make it without them. Then imagine that they were coming to see YOU, and they died in the process."  
  
Shelby's eyes widened as the light clicked on in her brain; Scott wasn't just upset that his parents died, he felt guilty. "I… he must be feeling so…"  
  
"Guilty? Look, my mom died, but this is something completely different from when my mom died. I mean, when she died it was easier for me because I could blame it on my dad. It's not like that for Scott, his parents died and the only person he has left to blame is Scott."  
  
"But," Shelby protested. "It wasn't his fault, he didn't do anything wrong."  
  
"I know that, and you know that, but Scott doesn't. Shelby, when your friends patty died, who did you blame?"  
  
"Her," Shelby said not wanting to revisit that painful memory.  
  
"No you didn't," Daisy said. "And don't try to pretend that you did. Sure, now you may blame her, but when she first died you didn't."  
  
"Yeah," Shelby said after a while. She had blamed herself. She kept thinking that if she had been there for Patty, if she had talked to her more, maybe she would still be alive.   
  
"So yeah, we all know that it isn't Scott's fault, but his parents died a little over a month ago, and he hasn't been given even a minute to deal with it. Instead he's had to sit and watch more crap pile up."  
  
Shelby didn't say anything, but instead got lost in her thoughts. Daisy was right, she always was, but Shelby didn't know how to deal with this new information. She didn't know how to talk to Scott about it. "I still don't know what to do."  
  
"You don't do anything," Daisy said as if that was quite obvious. "You let him deal with it how he needs to, and when he's ready to start talking, you be there."  
  
Shelby looked up at Daisy and smiled; she always knew how to fix everything. "Look Daisy. I'm sorry about all this stuff with Angela…"  
  
"Forget about it," Daisy said. "I mean, it took you forever to come around, but you did. And I get that she will too, I just think it's so pathetic that everyone seems to flock around her like she's Miss Perfect. I mean, if she was, why would she be here?"  
  
"Yeah," Shelby said smiling; everything that had been between them had just gotten washed away. "You know Daisy, I think you may have a career here when you get older," Shelby said joking, but deep down she meant it. 


	7. Green Beans

Every You, Every Me- Green Beans  
  
Daisy rolled off her bed and patted Shelby on the shoulder." Come on Shel," she said while striding towards the door. "We have group before lunch, and I know you wouldn't want to miss that."  
  
Shelby smiled at Daisy and stood up too. "You know something Daisy?"  
  
"I know a lot of somethings, but I'm always open to new food for thought."  
  
"You of all people know how anti-emotion I am, so don't you dare go mocking me… but I just wanted to let you know that you're my best friend, and I wouldn't want anything stupid to get between us."  
  
"Oh my dearest Shelby, why would you ever think I would mock you for letting your human nature come out to play?" Daisy asked, and then shook her head. "Jokes aside, you're my best friend too, and as long as you don't try to steel my stuffed elephant, Mr. Mookie, nothing will come between us."  
  
Shelby laughed and Daisy simply smiled at her. However, both of their smiles disappeared as they walked in to the lodge. Peter was already there along with Sophie, and they both had their serious faces on. "Shelby, Daisy," Peter said motioning for them to sit down.  
  
"Sure," Daisy commented as she plopped on the couch next to Daisy. "Say Shelby's name first. No, really it's okay, I'm used to playing second fiddle to our dear Miss Shelby."  
  
Peter frowned at her but Shelby simply laughed, which in turn made Daisy smile. Shelby really was Daisy's friend, and she hated to see her when she was sad. However, Daisy couldn't dwell too much at Shelby's misfortunes; she was too busy being secretly giddy about her own happiness. David had finally given in, and Daisy knew he didn't hate her anymore. Now that all that was behind them maybe they could really begin to develop their relationship.  
  
"Dais?" Someone said to her. Daisy moved her gaze from the fire to the rest of the room. She had been so busy being secretly giddy that she hadn't noticed that everyone had finally filed in the room. "Dais?" The voice said again from her right. Daisy turned to see David smiling at her.  
  
"Hi," Daisy said. "I mean, um, what?"  
  
"Well, I know there are only three cushions on the couch, and there are already three people on it, but I figure if you scoot a little closer to Shelby I could sit on it." David said, while Daisy sat and stared at him like a gaping moron. "You know? So I don't get stuck on the floor?"  
  
"Oh right," Daisy said finally. She scooted closer to Shelby who was snuggled up next to Scott.   
  
"You and me, we're going to talk about this later," Shelby whispered in Daisy's ear, looking at David.  
  
Daisy tried to act innocent, but falsities weren't her strong suit. "More than you know," she whispered back. "More than you know."  
  
Aubrey snuck another quick glance at Angela. She was fiddling with one of the strings on the loveseat and appeared less than interested in whatever it was that Peter was saying. Aubrey smiled; Angela had something about her that was so alluring.   
  
"…So who's ready to share?" Peter asked, looking expectantly around the room. Normally Aubrey would offer to go first, just to get it over with so everyone could forget about what he said by the end of it, but he had been so busy being allured by Angela that he didn't know what he was supposed to be sharing about.   
  
"I'll go," Juliette said, smiling at everyone brightly. Aubrey laughed a little to himself; Juliette was always so happy and excited about everything… it was different than what Aubrey was used to. "Well," Juliette said, seeming to be trying to calm herself. "I think dreams are an insight to what you're really feeling. Like, one time I had this dream that my mom died, and I like cried at her funeral… Anyway, later what I realized was that my dreams were trying to tell me that I didn't really hate my mom."  
  
Aubrey flashed a halfway smile even though Juliette's story didn't make much sense. Someone else seemed to share his thoughts because he heard a laugh coming from the left of him. He turned to see that David was the one guilty of emitting the noise. Peter glared at him. "David?"  
  
"I'm sorry," David said smiling, his patented cynicism intact. "It's just that the little princess is so vapid and shallow."  
  
"Yo meat, you better step off," Auggie said as he placed one of his hands on Juliette's shoulder consolingly.   
  
"Or what? You'll push me off? I mean come on, 'my dreams were telling me that I wasn't mad at my mom'," David said laughing, as he mocked Juliette. "That's your subconscious sweetie, or do you need to go back to third grade?"  
  
Aubrey hid a smile behind his hand; David may be mean, but he could on occasion be quite entertaining. "Hey man," Auggie said starting to stand up until Peter motioned for him to stop.  
  
"David, why don't you tell us what you think our dreams tell us?" Sophie asked calmly.  
  
"Well, I think they tell us what we're really feeling," David scoffed mockingly.  
  
Sophie's smile faltered a little. "David, unless you'd like to get in tune with your feelings with a week on shuns, I suggest you start being serious."  
  
"Yeah, whatever," David said, sighing deeply. "Dreams are the insight into your subconscious. Does that tickle your pickle, Sophie?"  
  
"That will be enough for now David," Peter interjected before Sophie could say anything. "Daisy, why don't you give us some insight into what you think dreams do."  
  
"I think, like David said," Daisy began. "That they tell you what your subconscious feels. You know, it tells you what's beneath the skin. I mean, you're subconscious is always there, always feeling, thinking, plotting… but it can't tell you what it thinks until you can take it, like when you're relaxed, sleeping. Say, for instance, you subconsciously are attracted to someone, but your conscious self won't let you be attracted to them because… they're your best friend's boyfriend- don't worry Shelby, I'm not trying to take Scott. Anyway, at night, when all your inhibitions are lost, when the veil is pulled back, your mind let's you know what you're really feelings, what's beneath the skin, through a dream. Dreams unmuddle the muddled, and defuddle the befuddled."  
  
"Well," Peter said as he and Sophie shared a look of confusion. "That's very interesting Daisy… thank you for your point of view. Uh, Aubrey, how about you give yours."  
  
Aubrey sat up at the sound of his name, and then smirked as he imagined the look on Daisy's face when he was finished. "Well, I think dreams are pointless."  
  
"What?" Daisy asked, bolting up straight.  
  
"I said, I think dreams are pointless; they don't tell you anything. The whole 'dreams tell you what you really feel' thing is a load of crap made up by a bunch of shrinks who were looking to make a buck or two after they went all lobotomy on their loyal customers. I mean, come on, if dreams really did reveal what's 'beneath the skin,' then why would we need people to dissect them for us?" Aubrey looked around the room and smiled as he saw that most people's faces were a complete blank. 'I guess they listened to me for once,' Aubrey mused to himself.  
  
"Pah," Daisy exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "First of all, dreams having meanings was believed long before shrinks were around…"  
  
"… yeah, they had all those dream interpreters right? Well, how do you think they made their money? Who would voluntarily have their balls cut off if there weren't some big bucks involved?" Aubrey asked, cutting Daisy off. "Because I guarantee you, no one would willingly have their balls chopped off if some serious dough wasn't involved."  
  
"Whatever," Daisy snapped. "Secondly, maybe people need those dreams interpreted because they can't do it for themselves."  
  
Aubrey just shook his head smiling; Daisy really didn't have a clue. "Oh, is that true? Well, let me tell YOU a little something. My mom decided to divorce my dad after eighteen years because she had a dream one night that led her to believe she should. Mom's not so certain, it was just a dream after all, and so she goes to see Mr. Shrink. Mr. Shrink says, 'yeah, that's exactly what your dreams telling you to do.' Well, she kept having more 'prophesizing' dreams, and Mr. Shrink kept telling her that they were clueing her in on to what she should be doing. So she believes him, she changes our lives completely because she has a dream, and Mr. Shrink man to back her up. She kept saying how Mr. Shrink was making her life better, helping her, how he knew everything that was vital to her being. The one thing that Mr. Shrink didn't seem to know was that my mom had a massive tumor in her brain. Those dreams weren't messages sent by her subconscious, they were chain reactions that her tumor caused."  
  
No one said anything, and Daisy simply gaped at him. "I guess that sort of screws over your self-righteous spiel, doesn't it?" Aubrey asked, and then stood up slowly, and walked out of the lodge. He didn't need to deal with this, not memory's of his mom, not Daisy's self-righteous kick, not anything.   
  
Angela stood up quickly; she needed to make sure Aubrey was okay. Peter, however, didn't seem to sense her urgency, more like he chose to ignore it. "Everyone, go to lunch," he commanded. No one seemed to be listening to what he was saying. "NOW!" He yelled, his voice booming. Everyone looked at him, and then followed his commands slowly. Angela hung back a little and so did Daisy. 'Perfect,' Angela thought to herself as she realized that her and Daisy were the only ones left.  
  
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Angela demanded, her nose millimeters from Daisy's.  
  
"Listen, Queen of All That is Evil, I don't have time to deal with you right now. Okay?" Daisy asked trying to shove her way past her, but Angela knew she was stronger than Daisy had accounted for. Daisy stumbled a little when Angela pushed her back, her eyes wide.  
  
"What's a matter Daisy? You don't like to play games when you don't have your bodyguards to protect you? Well that's just too damn bead because you're going to listen to me," Angela spat out. "I couldn't really give a rat's ass if you wanted to mess with me, but Aubrey's a different story, so why don't you just back off?"  
  
"Why do you care? I mean, the only reason you like him is for your image, isn't that right?"  
  
"Okay, you want to settle this now Daisy?" She asked, raising her perfectly plucked eyebrows high. "That's fine. I don't know what your deal is, but I'm sick of it. Just because you tried to put on a face and the kids in the sandbox still didn't like you for it is no reason to bag on my parade. So I put a face on, big deal, at least I don't go around driving people crazy."  
  
"Yeah, well, at least I can sleep at night knowing that the people who like me, like me for who I am, and not some show I'm putting on for them," Daisy said vehemently, her eyes glowing.   
  
"Mm hmm," Angela said with a laugh. "And who would those people be? Well the only ones I can think of are Shelby and Scott. Oh, but wait, then there's David," Angela said and put her mouth right next to Daisy's ear, so the next thing she said was barely above a whisper. "It must kill you to know that he would rather be with me, false face and all, then have the real Daisy."  
  
Angela's whole body shook as she walked out of the lodge and into the warm summer air; she hated being so malicious to people. "She deserved it," Angela told herself, but deep down inside she knew she really didn't. Angela knew that most people didn't deserve her wrath. After all, it was natural for someone to want to know the people they're surrounded by. Angela just bit her lower lip, trying to decide what her next plan of action would be. She didn't feel like eating, and she had no idea where Aubrey would have run off to. A twig snapping on the ground let her know that her decision would soon be made, she whirled around only to find herself face to face with Sophie. "Shit," Angela mumbled underneath her breath; Sophie was the last person she wanted to talk to, especially after their last encounter.  
  
"Angela," Sophie said, her voice perfectly calm.  
  
"What?" Angela barked at her.  
  
"Shouldn't you be off at lunch eating?" Sophie asked her, nodding back towards the building.  
  
Angela took a deep breath and closed her eyes; she couldn't deal with this right now. "Shouldn't you be off sulking after Peter?"  
  
Sophie's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped. Angela smiled at her, cocking her eyebrows. It really was too easy to get her riled up. "What I do in my own time is not your business, however what you do in your own time IS mine. So, you're going to go into the cafeteria and then you are going to eat, after you're finished you'll be going to the nurse's office to get your medication…" Angela made an involuntary choking noise that cause Sophie to stop mid sentence. "What?"  
  
"How did you…" Angela started to say, but cut herself short. Maybe Sophie didn't know she was borderline schizophrenic. Surely Peter wouldn't have told her.   
  
"I know every Cliffhanger and what sent them here, that's my job. Now back to what I was saying."  
  
"No," Angela burst out, tears stinging at her eyes. "You may know why I'm here, but you sure as hell don't know who I am. And you know something else? You won't ever. I'm sick of this place, sick of its rules, but mostly I'm sick of you. So, I'm going to tell you about what's going to happen. I'm going to go to the dorm, and I'm going to take a nap," Angela said, spewing her words out a mile a minute. She turned around and began walking briskly as tears filled her eyes, and threatened to pour over.  
  
"If you don't go to the cafeteria and eat right now, then you'll be put on shuns for a week," Sophie said, her voice full of venom.  
  
Angela stopped where she was and smiled to herself; Sophie's pathetic little threats weren't going to work on her. "Shun away," Angela said simply, and then headed off towards the dorms.  
  
Shelby watched as a shaking Daisy walked towards the table and sat down. She knew that Aubrey's words had impacted everyone, but she didn't understand why Daisy, Queen of Cool, was still reeling from it.  
  
"Daisy, are you okay?" Juliette asked, mirroring Shelby's thoughts. "You look paler than usual, and your hair, it's all flat and stuff."  
  
"Does tact mean anything to you," Shelby asked Juliette as she leveled her with a stare.  
  
"Yeah," Juliette replied, pursing her lips and looking down at her food. "It means not being afraid to tell people the truth."  
  
Shelby shook her head and smiled sarcastically at Juliette. "You want to know the truth Queenie? Well how about we talk about the fact that you look like you've added a few extra pounds. You might want to watch what you're eating for a while."  
  
"Shelby," Scott said elbowing her.  
  
"Yo, Shelby, that ain't cool, girl," Auggie said and then put his arm around Juliette consolingly.   
  
Shelby just shrugged her shoulders and went back to contemplating why Daisy was acting more distant than usual. "Well, if it isn't another lunch full of tender love and care," David mocked. Shelby smiled, he may be a moron sometimes, but for the most part David was pretty funny.  
  
"Yeah," Daisy scoffed punishing her green beans with the bottom of her spoon.  
  
"Did your green beans upset you?" Shelby asked her in an attempt to lighten up the mood.  
  
"Well," Daisy said smiling sardonically. "I think they deserve to be beaten for claiming to be green."  
  
"Yeah," David said in his wily way. "They just want our sympathy. After all, everyone knows it isn't easy being green."  
  
Everyone laughed, Daisy even smiled a little. "You're way out there man," Scott said to David.  
  
"Nah," Daisy said shaking her head. "Aliens wouldn't come to live on our earth."  
  
"So you're saying you believe in Aliens?" Scott asked her, his eyebrows cocked.   
  
"Yes, yes I do."  
  
"But there's no proof," Scott said, his mouth forming into a pout. It made his face look so adorable Shelby grabbed his hand underneath the table.  
  
"Well, Sometimes I think that the surest sign that intelligent life exists somewhere is the fact that none of it had tried to contact us*." Daisy said smiling at him. Shelby smiled, and decided she would wait until they got back to the dorms to ask Daisy what her deal was. For the moment she was going to savor her time with Scott.  
  
Author's Note: I added that last little Shelby bit for some comic relief, I thought we needed it. So, now you know (Mike's Super Short Show) what Mr. Aubrey's problems are… well you semi know… more like, you have some insight towards him, yeah, that's it. In any case, thanks for all the reviews, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Oh, and YEAH, I totally saw that Charmed episode. My sister is like obsessed, and that just so happened to be one of the episodes I taped for her.   
  
*From the mouth of Calvin and Hobbes 


	8. Breathe

Every You, Every Me- Breathe  
  
Aubrey sat staring at the clock above Peter's head; he had been in here for approximately twelve minutes and two seconds already, and no one had said anything yet. Peter began to tap his fingers on his desk, silently searching Aubrey's features for some form of a clue. "Look Peter," Aubrey said, giving in. "I wasn't planning on runnin' away or anything like that. I just needed some air. Occasionally it is a good thing to breathe."  
  
"This is true," Peter said, still studying him carefully. "It is also occasionally a good thing to let your feelings go. It's never a good thing to keep them bottled up inside of you."  
  
"Well, I released them, so I don't understand why I'm sitting here," Aubrey replied leveling Peter with a stare. He had never been intimidated by anyone before, and he wasn't going to start now."  
  
"Aubrey, every kid here has a file, a few pieces of paper that we'd like to think could tell us why your really here. All you file says is that you put a male from your school into a coma, as of right now, that is all about you. Because your file says nothing about your mom, or your parent's being divorced. So, basically, what I'm saying is, I would like to know a little more about you."  
  
"Yeah well, all those little stories you're lookin' to hear would take quite a while to tell, and to be quite frank, I don't feel like tellin' you any of 'em right now. So, if you could please excuse me, I would like to go to lunch."  
  
Peter stared at him contemplatively, and then finally lowered his head. "Sure, but when you are ready to tell someone, my door is always open."  
  
"Thanks Peter," Aubrey said smiling at him. When it came down to it, Peter was a pretty cool guy.   
  
Sophie smiled at Aubrey as he walked past her and out of Peter's office, and gave him a small pat on the back. She couldn't, however, hide the fierce determination from her eyes as she turned to look at Peter head on. "Something wrong Sophie?"  
  
"Yeah, you could say that," Sophie said, her tone a little harder than she had intended for it to be. "Miss Angela seems to think that she can go around doing whatever the hell she wants, and you don't even have a clue."  
  
"Sophie, calm down," Peter said placing his hands on her shoulders. "Look, I'm sorry, I don't- I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"Exactly my point," Sophie spewed the words and then began to pace around the room, leaving Peter to stare after her in confusion. "She just… uhh! I mean, I am supposed to be the adult here, she's not supposed to be getting in to my personal life. It is none of her business. And furthermore, she can't tell me what to do. I am the authority figure here, and I'm supposed to tell her what to do, not the other way around."  
  
Sophie at Peter intently, waiting for him to say something, anything. "Well," Peter began cautiously. "I still am not quite sure what you are talking about, but you are starting to sound a little like one of the kids here… How can you expect them to tell you a little about their lives if you won't offer any insight into yours."  
  
"See, that is exactly what I am talking about Peter. You don't have clue. You think she's just innocently asking questions, but she's not. She is going into some seriously personal stuff about me and YOU, okay? And you want to know why she's using her so astute insights against me, just to keep me away from her. She knows that right now I would much rather hit her than look at her. And yes, okay, maybe I am going a little over the edge, but I can't help it. She just, she knows all the right buttons to push, and you're not even going to punish her."  
  
Peter looked at Sophie and smiled slightly at her, and then he walked over to her and wrapped her up in a hug. "Okay, so maybe she shouldn't use your feelings against you, but that isn't exactly a reason to punish her."  
  
"Well then how about the fact that I told her to go to lunch and she out and out told me that she was not going to, and to, 'shun away?'" Sophie replied, her voice muffled by Peter's chest.  
  
"Well, then I guess I will have to reward her with a week of shuns," Peter replied, and then pulled back to look Sophie in the eyes. "But if you don't think you'll be able to hand having her as part of the Cliffhangers, then maybe I should reassign her to a different group."  
  
"No," Sophie said fiercely. "Look Peter, I am aware that right now I may be coming off as immature, but if I give up on her now, then I'm no worse than those people who gave up on her before she came here. I need to do this, if not for that reason, then at least for my own sanity."  
  
"Okay," Peter said. "I'll talk to her, and then I think maybe it's time that the Cliffhangers got a little closer to nature."  
  
Juliette peered at everyone closely while pretending to be engrossed in her book. Scott was moping in the corner, which was perfectly understandable, Juliette only wished she knew how to help him. She didn't appear to be the only one as Juliette caught Shelby gazing over at Scott with her forehead creasing in concern. Auggie was working on one of his newest art projects, and Daisy and David were engrossed in conversation over something Juliette couldn't quite hear. It was like the whole gang was back again, minus Ezra and Kat. Kat… Juliette missed her a lot; she had been all alone with just Shelby and Daisy who always seemed to gang up on her. That was why Juliette had been so excited when Angela had come along, at least now she had someone to talk to, even if Angela was quite flaky. Speaking of which…  
  
"Hey guys," Juliette said to the rest of the group. "Where did Angela go?"  
  
Auggie looked over at her and shook her head. "I don' know, she wasn't at lunch either."  
  
"Maybe she went on a made raging bitch fest, but wait, she did that already," Daisy said smiling at Juliette and the rest of the group the way only Daisy could.  
  
"Or maybe she went and found Aubrey and they're off making mini versions of themselves," David suggested smirking.  
  
"Or maybe your mind is way too into the gutter," Juliette said smiling as she threw a pillow at David, who in turn threw it back at her, which in turn started a pillow fight. Auggie, Daisy, Juliette, and David were all immersed in their pillow fun when the back door of the lounge slammed shut. Everyone stopped their fighting immediately and looked around the room. Juliette's eyes rested on a confused Shelby who could be going after the one and only Scott. Juliette sighed and sat back in her chair, sometimes she wished she could be the one to make him feel better.  
  
Scott stormed out of the lodge and made a beeline for the docks. He had been sitting there for at least a minute before he heard someone come up behind him and sit down. "Shelby, I can't talk about this right now."  
  
Shelby looked over at him and smiled, then grabbed his hand. "You don't have to," she said after a moment or so. "I just wanted you to know that I'm here, and I always will be."  
  
Scott rested his hand on Shelby's chest and she began to run her fingers through his hair. "I just don't get it."  
  
"Don't get what?" Shelby asked him.  
  
"How can they sit there and act like everything is okay? Everything is not okay."  
  
Shelby was silent for a moment. "Maybe because they don't know what else to do. Maybe they think that you already feel bad enough, and that there's no use sitting around being miserable."  
  
Scott sighed and rolled over so he could look up at Shelby. "Is that what you're trying to do? Make me feel better?" Scott waited for Shelby to say something, but she never did. "You don't have to try to make me feel better Shel, that's not your job."  
  
"It's not that easy Scott. I mean, I sit there, and I see you being all sad, with your heart broken in two. I sit there and watch you, and it kills because I know that there is nothing I can do to help you. You're dieing inside and there isn't one thing I can say or do to change that."  
  
"Shelby, all you need to do to help is be there for me. Yeah, it's gonna suck for a while, and sometimes I'm going to act like a real jerk, but as long as you're there with me, I'll be okay. You're all I need Shelby," Scott said looking up at her, completely serious. Shelby smiled down at him. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Carve your name into my arm  
  
Instead of Stressed I lie here charmed  
  
"cause there's nothing else to do  
  
Every me and Every you  
  
Author's Note: Howdy! Umm, basically, I know that you are waiting for my excuse as to why I haven't written in a while, so here goes: 1) My dad switched out our computers cause our old ones crap, and it took him awhile to get it set up, and I still don't have any of my saved files or anything; 2) My best friend's mom (more like my second mom) umm, passed away recently, and it's been really painful, and I've been trying to just help my friend out because the circumstances are very painful. So, there you have it, those are my excuses, take them or leave them, I don't really care. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know it is a lot shorter than the other ones, but I thought it should end there. Well, please review. 


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